Adviser To Accused Haiti Kidnapping Missionaries Is Arrested

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic — A man who provided legal advice to 10 American Baptists accused of kidnapping 33 Haitian children after the earthquake there was arrested Thursday night in the Dominican Republic and accused of human trafficking, the country’s anti-narcotics agency said Friday.

The man, identified as Jorge Torres-Puello, is linked to a network that trafficked in Haitian and Central American children and is wanted in the United States, El Salvador and Costa Rica, the National Drug Control Agency said.

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Torres-Puello had been hiding in the Dominican Republic after he was accused of using the country to take Haitian children to North America, it said.

Members of the drug agency took Torres-Puello, also known as Jorge Torres Orellana, into custody without incident at 8 p.m. in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant in the capital, the news release said.